Railroad-crossing



(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet I. J

E. EVANS. RAILROAD onossme.

No. 275,028. 43%11 Apr. 3, 1883.

WITNESSES V /'/v VE/VTOHI (NdModeL) 4-Sheets-Sheet 2.

E. EVANS. RAILROAD CROSSING. NO. 275,028. P'- d Apr. 3, 1883.

d; 1 g I 1? 4 R i o g 0 0 o o o o (No Model.)

WITNESSES @w I 4 Sheets-Sheet 3. E. EVANS.

RAILROAD CROSSING.

Patented Apr.3. 1883.

INVENTOR (No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

E. EVANS.

, RAILROAD CROSSING. I No. 275,028. Patented Apr. 3, 1883.

lmmun W/T/VESSES l/VVE/VTOR- UNITED STATES FFCEO EDIVARD EVANS, OFMANSFIELD, OHIO.

RAILROAD-CROSSING.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 275,028, dated April 3,1883.

\ Application filed October 23, 188?. (No model.)

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, EDWARD EVANS, ofMansfield, in the county of Richland and State of Ohio, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Railroad-Crossings; and I dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to whichit pertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to an improvement in railroad-crossing, the objectof the same being to dispense with the frogs ordinarily used and employmovable rail-sections adapted to register with the rails of thetrackways and form continuous rails for either track.

A further object of my invention is to provide means for simultaneouslyopening one trackway for the passage of a train, closing the other, andplacing detonating signals over the rails of the closed track for thepurpose of warning the engineer.

With these ends in view my invention consists in the parts andcombinations, as will be more fully described, and pointed out in theclaims.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a plan view of my improvement.Fig.2 is a similar View, showing the position the movable rail-sectionsassume while being turned. Fig. 3 is a detached perspective view of oneof the cross or intermediate rails, showing the side ears. Fig. 4 is aview of the supportingbase. Fig. 5 is a view in vertical section throughone of the cross-rails, movable-rail, rack-bar, segment-gear, and base.Fig.6 shows another form of crossing, and Fig. 7 is a modification.

A A represent two traekways running at right or any other suitable angletoward each other, and B is a supporting-base interposed at the meetingpoint of the two trackways. In the crossing shown in Fig.1 the base ismade of cast metal, is square in shape, and provided with elevations a afor the adjacent ends of the rails composing the trackways A A and thecross-rails O to rest on, and depressions b for the rack-bars D and thesegment-gears E to move in. The four internal elevations a are for thecross-rails O, which latter are divided into pairs and so situated as toform portions of the two trackways A and A, respectively. From theforegoing it will be seen that when the rails composing the trackways Aand A (including the cross-rails O) are secured in position, four openspaces between the adjacent ends of the rails are formed, and it is inthese open spaces that four movable sections of rails are secured, whichare adapted to register with the rails of either trackway and form a.continuous and unbroken track, and thereby avoid the jarring experiencedwhile crossing over frogs. In this present instance the segment-gears Grest on the top of the base, in the space between the rails, and arecentrally perforated for the passage of the pivotal bolts H, whichlatter are passed upward from the under side of the base-plate. Thesepivotal bolts are each provided with a head, (7, adapted to rest andbear against the under side of the plate, the body d, which looselyrests within an opening in the plate and the corresponding opening inthe segment-gears, and the screw-threaded end (1 which latter is screwedinto the under side of the movable rail-section. This construction bindsall the parts down to the base B, but it leaves the segment-gears freeto revolve without the rail-sections secured thereon, and to overcomethis I have provided alug, e, on the upper face of each segment-gear,adapted to fit in a corresponding recess of its respective rail-section.Thus it will be seen that when the segment-gear is partly rotated thesection of rail above the same is also moved simultaneously therewith.The body (1 of the pivotal bolt passes loosely through the base-plateand segment-gear, and are consequently allowed to turn with the movablerail-sections.

l are two parallel rack-bars, preferably running in a line parallel andbetween the rails of one ofthe' tracks, and in the depressions in thebase-plate provided therefor. The front ends of these rack-bars areconnected together by the cross-head J, to which latter one end of thepitman K is loosely secured, the opposite end of the pitman beingsecured to the cranked portion fof theoperating-leverL. Thisoperating-lever runs transversely across one of the trackways, under therails thereof, and

is provided on one end with the hand-lever g and on the opposite endwith the crank it by which the signals are operated. In the drawings Ihave only shown one signal-rod for operating one target-signal and thedetonating signal; but I intend to have arms for holding detonatingsignals and target-signals placed alongside of the four approaches tothe crossing, and adapted to be turned so as to bring the torpedoes onoroff the rails of the track and the signals in view simultaneously as themovable rails are turned. One target-signal, M, is situated near thecrossing, so as to be readily observed from either of the fourapproaches, and is operated by the rod 1', connecting it with the crankh. The target-signal arm is provided with a. horizontal extension, towhich one end of a long link'or a series of links is connected. Thislink (or series of links) extends down the track for about two thousandfive hundred feet, and is connected at suitable intervals apart to smallupright arms (to one or more of which target-signals, it desired, aresecured,) having laterallyextending fingers k, to the outer ends ofwhich latter the detonating signals or torpedoes are secured. Thesefingers 7c are situated in a horizontal plane slightly above the tops ofthe rails, and are adapted to be turned on and off the rails by theoperating-lever before referred to. If, when approaching the crossingfrom either direction, the engineer, through negligence orcolor-blindness, should fail to observe the target-signal, the torpedoeswill warn him if ifthetrackisclosed. It'thetraokisopen,tl1etorpedoeswill rest outside of the rails. The racks before referred to are adaptedto move longitudinally a sufficientdistanceto turn the movable railsfrom one trackway to another,'and the cross-rails are provided with theears m, which form the limits of movement of the-movable rails. By thisineansa continuous and unbroken trackway is formed, which enables thecars to pass over withoutjarring. When the movable rails are turned ineither direction a sufficient space between the sides thereof and theends of the rails resting at right angles thereto is left for thepassage of the flanges of the car and locomotive wheels. When thisconstruction is employedthat is, when the operative parts are situatedabove the bearin g-plate-therack-bars and segment-gears are completelyhoused in by the plates at and 0, respectively, which completelyprotects them from the weather. The plates 0 are secured on the upperfaces of the segment-gears and turn therewith.

Another form of crossing, which can be made cheaper than and is aseffective as the one heretofore described, is shown in Fig. 6. In thiscrossing the base B is made with a flat top, and the rails, both movableand rigid,rest thereon, while the rack-bars and movable gears aresituated underneath the same, and are completely housed thereby. Whenthis construction is employed the rack-bars can be held up against theunder side of the base in any suitable bearings, and the gears arerigidly secured to the body of the pivotal bolt below the base-plate,and the movable tracks rigidly secured to the upper ends of the pivotalbolts above the base-plate, theportions of the screwbolts passing upwardthrough and resting in the base-plate, being free to 'turn therein asthe rack is turned.

In the two forms of crossings just described the same parts andmechanism are employed, with the exception of the lugs e on thesegment-gears and the recesses in the movable tracks; but this is notessential in the first construction, as it is evident that the boltcanbe rigidly secured to the segment gears and rails, as described in thelatter form of cross- In the modification shown in Fig. 7 the parallelrack-bars are dispensed with and a continuous link-rack, P, employed intheir stead. This rack P is supported on the under side of the plate inengagement with the segmentgears, and is operated by the pinion Q, whichin turn can be operated by the operating-lever referred tointhepreviousconstructions. When this endless rack is employed the side ears on thecross-rails prevent the movable tracks turning more than the requireddistance.

The base-plate B, instead of being made in a single piece, as shown anddescribed, can be made in as many separate pieces as desired, and thesepieces can be secured together or left independent, as deemed expedient.

It is evident that numerous changes in the construction and relativearrangements of the several parts might be resorted to without departing from the spirit of my invention, and hence I would have itunderstood that I do not limit myself to the exact forms of constructionnor the exact position of the several parts, but consider myself atliberty to make such changes and alterations as fairly fall within thespirit and scope of my invention.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a railroad-crossing, the combination, with movable sections ofrails interposed between the adjacent ends of the rails of the trackwaysA and A and the cross-rails, of segment-gears and racks meshing with thesegment-gears and adapted to operate the movable sections of railssimultaneously.

2. In a railroad-crossing, the combination, with movable sections ofrails interposed between the adjacent ends of the rigidrails,segmentgears rigidly secured to the movable rails, and racks forturning the movable rails, of a target-signal, mechanism for holdingdetonating signals, and a bar and levers for simultaneously turning themovable rails and moving the detonating signal on the closed track andmoving them off the open track, as described.

3. In a railroad-crossing, the combination, with a suitable supportingbase-plate and rigid rails, of segment-gears rigidly secureddirectly. orindirectly to movable rail-sections interposed between the adjacent endsof the rigid rails, and rack-bars engaging therewith for turning themovable rails.

4. The combination, witha supporting-base, the cross-rails rigidlysecured thereto, and the trackways A A, of four movable sections ofrails interposed between the cross-rails and the rails of the trackwaysA A, a segmentgear secured to each movable section of rail, and parallelrack-bars for turning the movable sections of rail simultaneously.

5. The combination, with a base-plate situated at the crossing-point oftwo trackways and cross-rails secured thereto, the latter being providedwith side ears, as shown,of movable sections of rails adapted to beturned so as to open either trackway, segment-gears secured to themovable rail-sections through the -intervention of pivotal bolts, whichlatter also secure the gears and movable rail-section to the base-plate,and parallel rack-bars for turning the movable rails.

U. The combination, with a railroad-crossing provided with movablerail-sections adapted to register with either trackway, of verticalarms, each having a horizontal finger secured thereto, to whichdetonating signals are to be removably secured,an operating-rod,andconnecting links or levers for simultaneously opening one track andclosing the other and moving the detonating signals over the rails ofthe closed track and oh the open track.

7. In a railroad-crossing, the combination, with a suitable base-plate,of segment-gears resting on said base-plate, parallel rack-barsoperating the segmentgears, rail-sections rigidly secured to thesegine11t-gears,and pivotal bolts for binding the segment-gears andmovable rail-sections to the base.

8. In a railroad-crossing, the combination, with the supporting-plateprovided with elevations for the rails to reston and depressions for thesegment-gears and rack-bars to move in, of the trackways A A, thecross-rails provided with ears, segment-gears interposed between theadjacent ends of the rails of the trackways A A and the cross-rails,rail-sections rigidly secured to the upper faces of the segmentgears,bolts for loosely securing the movable railsections and gears to thebaseplate, and racks and levers for operating. the movable rails.

9. The combination, with the base-plate and rigid rails secured thereto,of the segmentgears, rack-bars, movable rails, pivotal bolts, and thehousing or coverings for the gears and racks.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

EDWARD EVANS.

Witnesses:

HENRY O. HODGES, M. E. DOUGLAS.

